Burning The Bulls (1 of 2)
Series: Reformation Thoughts
Jeff Strite
Romans 3:19-28
OPEN: October 31st was Halloween... but it was also the date of something even more significant. Many churches celebrate the last day of October as ''Reformation Day'' - the day (500 years ago) when Martin Luther nailed a document to the door of a Church building in Wittenberg, Germany that challenged the Roman Catholic Church on its doctrine. But we'll get to that historical event in just a moment.
A little over 500 years ago, the Catholic Church had a problem - his name was Giovanni de' Medici. From his youth, Giovanni was a rising star in the Roman Catholic Church: at age 7 he'd been made a monk, at age 13 he was a cardinal, and at age 40 he became Pope. When he ascended to the Papacy he took the name - Leo X.
Now Leo X wasn't really a very good Pope. His predecessor - Pope Julius II - had left a fairly healthy treasury for the Vatican, but because Leo lived a luxurious lifestyle he blew through that surplus in a little under 8 years. Adding to the problem the fact that Leo had been committed to an upcoming building project. The Vatican was building a new church - St. Peter's Basilica - and it was going to be HUGE! Up until the 1990s it was the largest church building ever built, covering nearly 6 acres of ground - and it is still the 2nd tallest building in Rome. To this day, it is still considered one of the most famous works of Renaissance culture and it was designed by some of the most famous architects of the day (including Michelangelo).
But back in 1500s it still hadn't been built because there was no money to build it ... Leo had spent it all. So now he has to raise the money. BUT how was he going to do that? Well, he fell back on a tried and true method used by other Bishops and Popes of the past, (PAUSE) he sold forgiveness. They called it the ''selling of indulgences''
Now, this is how it worked: Catholic theology held (and still teaches) that even i ...
Series: Reformation Thoughts
Jeff Strite
Romans 3:19-28
OPEN: October 31st was Halloween... but it was also the date of something even more significant. Many churches celebrate the last day of October as ''Reformation Day'' - the day (500 years ago) when Martin Luther nailed a document to the door of a Church building in Wittenberg, Germany that challenged the Roman Catholic Church on its doctrine. But we'll get to that historical event in just a moment.
A little over 500 years ago, the Catholic Church had a problem - his name was Giovanni de' Medici. From his youth, Giovanni was a rising star in the Roman Catholic Church: at age 7 he'd been made a monk, at age 13 he was a cardinal, and at age 40 he became Pope. When he ascended to the Papacy he took the name - Leo X.
Now Leo X wasn't really a very good Pope. His predecessor - Pope Julius II - had left a fairly healthy treasury for the Vatican, but because Leo lived a luxurious lifestyle he blew through that surplus in a little under 8 years. Adding to the problem the fact that Leo had been committed to an upcoming building project. The Vatican was building a new church - St. Peter's Basilica - and it was going to be HUGE! Up until the 1990s it was the largest church building ever built, covering nearly 6 acres of ground - and it is still the 2nd tallest building in Rome. To this day, it is still considered one of the most famous works of Renaissance culture and it was designed by some of the most famous architects of the day (including Michelangelo).
But back in 1500s it still hadn't been built because there was no money to build it ... Leo had spent it all. So now he has to raise the money. BUT how was he going to do that? Well, he fell back on a tried and true method used by other Bishops and Popes of the past, (PAUSE) he sold forgiveness. They called it the ''selling of indulgences''
Now, this is how it worked: Catholic theology held (and still teaches) that even i ...
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